A rider and her five-year-old homebred mare are navigating the entire 1500km of the Welsh border this month to raise money for two charities. Bethan Matthews, 24, who runs a livery yard near Brecon, and Charm have so far tackled bridges, beaches, highways and hills on what will form an epic 29-day trek. “It’s been amazing so far — I don’t want to come back,” Bethan said.
“One day we did 15km straight along the beach and I am loving all of it, spending time with my horse doing more than we ever could at home.” The trip took a year to plan and has involved days of up to 11 hours in the saddle. “I haven’t planned for any rest days but some days we have just covered 20km, which has meant Charm can have 20 hours in the field to relax afterward,” Bethan said.
“Our longest day was just over 60km and we always stop so Charm can have lunchtime feed — I have a support vehicle which is a horsebox and if the weather is bad then Charm can stand in there for some hay.” She added that she had adapted her tack so Charm was bitless to enable her to stop for a snack en route.
“She can graze more easily bitless and I try and make sure she always has something in her stomach — the stopping to graze is a habit I’ll probably have to get her out of when I get back now! So far, every time we have got to a new place to stay she has been chilled as long as there is food. I was worried if she was turned out in massive fields I might not be able to catch her when she’s doing so much work each day, but she’s always come to me.”
